Just need to waffle...

[ALovelyBunchOfCoconuts]

feeling a bit down lately. DH and I have been TTC for 5 months and currently no success.

I know it takes time to conceive and I don't think the time is the issue for me. I have a pretty rubbish history including PID, MMC x2 and suspected endometriosis and now suspected PCO.

After coming off the pill and March I had my 1st cycle and then it took until June to have my 2nd period and I've had nothing since June.

GP says suspected PCO, went for blood tests, all normal. Different GP sent me for more "extensive" bloods, still normal.

Then she gave me the whole come back next March talk and even had the cheek to say I should be grateful for the one I've got (2.5 DD).

i think the problem is that I now feel like I'm being silly in "expecting" to get pregnant. I've almost convinced myself it won't happen and that Im being greedy and selfish in wanting a second child. Are these feelings normal?

When I was going through my miscarriages, I always thought that it was such a privelege to get pregnant and have a succesful pregnancy and now I just want it so badly but I just feel so undeserving.

Thanks for listening, and anyone with similar feelings and experiences please tell me I'm normal :(

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

Coconuts,

In view of your gynae history I would be asking your GP to send you asap to a gynae specialising in subfertility issues in a hospital. You need to see such a person pronto.

What blood tests were done and on what day in the cycle?. Also if no-one ever compared the LH level against that of FSH the test is meaningless. They should have also sent you for an internal ultrasound scan to assess the state of your uterine cavity and ovaries.

If endometriosis is suspected as well there's no way that a GP should be faffing about unnecessarily as they are doing currently. Endo is also usually detected through a keyhole surgery op called a laparoscopy; it does not show on any ultrasound scan or blood test.

Forget the GP who told you to come back next March as well, would see another GP in this practice and insist that you are referred. If this practice continues to be unhelpful I would change GP practice.

[ALovelyBunchOfCoconuts]

Attila thanks for your reply. I think you have replied to a post I started about my problems a while ago under a diff name, before my periods stopped.

The first blood test looked at the FSH, LH and thyroid. All were normal.

The second test looked at testosterone, glucose and some other things I couldn't pronounce. Also normal.

I know I have cysts on my ovaries and was half expecting the GP to say lets do a scan to see whats going on but no such thing was even mentioned. I said I'd have thought I'd need one and she just carried on tapping away on the PC

I was offered a laparoscopy a couple of years ago but fell pg with my DD so couldn't have the procedure done.

I think she just took the point of TTC and said that we hadn't been trying long enough for any referrals. She was the second GP I saw in a fortnight at the same practice. And they think that if I already have had a baby then I should be able to have another.

In my eyes, if I have no periods, I can't get pregnant?

I have a friend who had some problems and she was so fed up she just decided that she'd put up with it because the GP's aren't great in our area and kept fobbing her off (she goes to the second practice in our town)

It's all so frustrating and confusing, so many problems, so many opinions and no answers.

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

Hi coconuts,

LH and FSH can look okay if only looked at separately. It is only when these levels are compared that any abnormality is seen.

Lap can be purely a diagnostic procedure, it is usually done when endometriosis is suspected.

Some PCOS patients actually find laparoscopic ovarian diathermy helpful as this can kickstart ovulation (an electrical laser or needle is used to burst the cystic follicles on the ovaries). Its not the same as a lap.

If there are no periods then ovulation is not happening.

Any chance at all you can perhaps register in the next town if this town's GPs are seemingly not up to muster?. I would insist to them that you are referred to a gynae as a matter of course (referral is certainly warranted here in view of your gynae history). Another possible way forward is to pay to see a gynae privately.

[ALovelyBunchOfCoconuts]

Wow, thanks Attila, you certainly know your stuff.

Unfortunately, finances aren't great so private isn't an option for me.

The lap was suggested due to the suspicion of endometriosis, the PCO(S) has only been raised in the last couple of months.

The trouble is that the bllods they have tested weren't taken at any specific time in my cycle as they should have been as I only had one period to go on. At 12 days into my cycle I had no idea there were problems.

It makes me think I should have come off the pill ages ago, alot of what ifs going round in my head at the mo.

I just feel completely irrational and selfish. DH is great, but there isn't much he can do or say.

You really do sound like you know more than my actual GP, thank you, maybe you can fix me!! :o